Nielsen Media Research Spend Trend: Media properties
As the new TV season approaches, so does all the advertising promoting the fall lineups. TV properties – cablecos, networks, and conventional stations – are the biggest Q3 spenders of all the media properties. Combined, they have accounted for 59% to nearly 65% (2005) of the spending in the category for the past four years. Dailies attract more than 40% of the dollars each year, with OOH running a distant second.
(Note: Promotional spots on the network or in the media property being advertised are not counted but ads on another network or medium, including those owned by the same parent company, are part of the tally.)
Camilleri appointed CEO of True North
Richard C. Camilleri, former president of CanWest Mediaworks, has been appointed CEO of Toronto’s True North Corp. (TNC). While at CanWest, he was responsible for the company’s Canadian media operations including the Global Television Network and CanWest Publications (including the National Post and 10 major metro newspapers).
TNC frames its identity as ‘The Return On Ideas Company™’ and focuses on marketing services and sales channel support. The company intends to implement an organizational restructuring when it completes the acquisition of C3 Online Marketing, a deal that’s currently under review by the TSX.
Prior to his stint at CanWest Mediaworks, Camilleri was chairman and CEO of ARIUS3D Inc, a successful technology startup that developed and deployed proprietary 3D imaging technologies. In 1993, he became president of Sony Music Entertainment, and in 1997 became one of seven members of the Global Strategic Planning Committee for Sony Music Entertainment, during which he participated in a strategic plan to transform Sony Music’s global operations for the digital age.
Marketing community’s early response to BGM/CHUM deal is mixed
Ask Fred Forster what he thinks about Bell Globemedia swallowing up CHUM and you get an earful.
‘I think it’s bad for advertisers, bad for marketers, and ultimately it’s going to cost consumers because advertising prices will go up and get passed on. Nothing good can come of this,’ fumes the president of Toronto’s PhD.
Why exactly does Forster say he’s so ‘alarmed’? And why has he been getting calls from ‘very concerned’ clients ever since the surprise announcement last week?
‘Because our own quick analysis of the situation indicates that, if the CRTC approves this deal, then for adults 25-54, BGM will control 54% of conventional ratings in primetime in Toronto and 36% of total purchasable ratings,’ he explains. ‘And for total English Canada, it will be 51% of purchasable ratings in primetime.
Kraft Dinner to star with Strombo on tonight’s simulcast premiere of new music reality show
Canadian interest in getting brand exposure on yet another American Idol clone was iffy until last week’s surprise announcement that our own George Stroumboulopoulos had beat out many other candidates for host of The One: Making a Music Star – and that CBC would be simulcasting the ten-week series with ABC beginning July 18.
That’s when the phone started ringing off the desk of Jamie Michaels, director of customer marketing at the Ceeb.
‘With George winning the host spot and bringing a lot of excitement and credibility with him, the interest level among Canadian advertisers was definitely piqued,’ says Michaels. ‘And the evidence of that is that, within days, Kraft Canada came on board with Kraft Dinner.
‘It’s a full sponsorship including opening and closing billboards, promotional air time and media around that. The KD logo is already attached to promotional spots which began running on CBC on July 13, and it’s in our print material, including ads in some dailies.’
Kraft Canada sponsored the just-wrapped Hockeyville series as well as supporting Hockey Night in Canada for several years. The company’s interest in sponsoring The One, says Kraft’s director of media Sandra Cifersons, is that ‘A key consumer insight for Kraft Dinner is the importance of self-expression. And music is a natural vehicle for self-expression, making it synergistic with The One.’
Michaels says that CBC is currently ‘in discussions with some other sponsors and we should be able to release those names very soon.’
Produced by reality pioneer Endemol USA, The One will be broadcast to 23 countries and feature 11 contestants attending a music academy while competing for a major recording contract. As with American Idol and Canadian Idol, the contestant-eliminating results of viewers’ votes will air the following night.
A veteran music expert, Stroumboulopoulos was a producer and host of MuchMusic’s The Punk Show, The NewMusic, Loud and MuchNews before joining CBC 18 months ago. He will continue as host of The Hour when it moves to a late-night slot this fall. Whether he will have time to also host a Canuck version of the series, to be called The Canadian One, is still up in the air, along with timing of its debut.
What’s not in doubt, at least for fans of gorgeous George, is that he will make both Ben Mulroney and Ryan Seacrest look like yesterday’s news.
Race for radio ratings still heated – BBM July 17, 2006
by David Bray
David Bray is SVP of Toronto-based Hennessy & Bray Communications.
As summer sets in, the race for ratings shows no signs of cooling down, as demonstrated by BBM’s latest ratings.
Alliance Atlantis: 87 new series plus 77 returning for 2006/07 season
Alliance Atlantis’s 2006/07 slate has 87 new series and 77 returning shows including buzz-worthy U.S. imports such as HBO’s Deadwood, beginning September 4 on History Television, and Showtime’s Huff on Showcase. Nearly one-third of the new season across its roster of 13 specialties is made up of homegrown Canadian shows.
Returning favourites on Showcase include Rescue Me season three (August 29); Weeds season two (August 30), and The L Word season three (September 28).
Grab ’em while they’re baking
Toronto’s Statements Media, which introduced dry cleaning advertising last summer, has come up with another innovative advertising medium. It’s a network of interior mini-billboards within the rooms of tanning salons across the Greater Toronto Area.
Says VP sales Joseph Magnotta, ‘These signs are comparable to those you would see within the washrooms of bars and restaurants, yet they have a more precise reach (because) people who tan are very image-conscious, typically young, and are active consumers who spend money to look good. These signs provide companies with a cost-effective way to reach this trendy demographic in a very intimate, one-on-one manner.’
After only three weeks in operation, Statements Media has signed an exclusive, contractually secured network of tanning salons and currently has more than 500 signs/faces. Meanwhile, the company is in the process of establishing another network in Montreal.
So far, two main advertisers have signed on: Yogen Fruz and an alcoholic cooler called Fruzzion. Magnotta cites average impression rates of 1,020 per sign per month. Ad rates range from $52/unit for one to 50 faces for one month (descending to $40 for six-month contracts) to $44/unit for more than 200 faces per month (descending to $32 for six-month contracts.
Interactive web murder mystery to offer three levels of brand exposure
Toronto’s SR Entertainment has plotted a raft of ad and sponsorship opportunities almost as cleverly as it did the criminal shenanigans on its about-to-launch online murder mystery game Murder at Mansfield Manor.
Advertisers and sponsors are being offered three levels of brand exposure: 30-second video commercials placed immediately following the opening credits; 30-second video commercials immediately following log-in; and the opportunity to have a sponsor’s tab between characters and credits, or a sponsor’s button toward the end of the game, between the Refer-A-Friend feature and the Privacy & Terms section.
The innovative, live-action, choose-your-own-adventure movie begins with a free mouse click on mysteryatmansfieldmanor.com. Players are filled in on the grisly murder of a wealthy oil industrialist and after that, says Rory Scherer, producer and screenwriter, participants pay a $4.99 fee to continue the game, receiving 72 hours of unlimited access to the complete website. Gameplay progresses as the player interrogates suspects, becomes immersed in red herring clues, and eventually arrests the person they believe is guilty.
Marketing strategy for the mystery game kicks off with a launch event on July 19 (8 p.m. at Ultra Supper Club, 314 Queen St. W. in Toronto), which Scherer expects to result in enthusiastic media coverage. A trailer has been posted on ifilm.com and will be added to several other websites in the near future. An email campaign to opt-in subscribers to various movie and game chatrooms and e-newsletters is in the works and, in expectation of creating a viral campaign, the mystery site itself contains a Refer-A-Friend feature. Word is evidently creeping out there already, judging by daily hits during July in the 100-500 range.
www.mysteryatmansfieldmanor.com
P&G holds onto top spot – Eloda analysis for July 10-16, 2006
P&G enjoyed its second straight week at number one, while Sony Pictures and The Brick played musical chairs for the second spot, Unilever zoomed from number 10 to number 4, and a raft of new to-10ers entered the picture for the week of July 10-16, 2006.
GM stands pat, IKEA makes giant leap – Eloda ad analysis for July 10-16, 2006
GM retained the top spot for the Toronto market. But the big news is that IKEA jumped from 567th spot to fifth. Media Monitors for July 10-16, 2006.
Consumer appeal of big-brand names declines among electronics shoppers
According to a recently released study by the Baltimore-based Vertis research agency titled Customer Focus® 2006 Home Electronics, the ability of brand names to influence shoppers for electronic products has declined in the United States from 40% in 2004 to just 29% as of June 2006.
Discounts and coupons are taking precedence over brand names in the decision where to shop, according to Vertis VP of market insights Jim Litwin. ‘Since consumers are always looking to upgrade their home electronics products, it is not surprising to learn that special offers like discounts and coupons are one of the most important factors for 19% of consumers, compared to 15% in 2004.’ He adds that the study shows that ‘circulars are an effective medium to reach home electronic consumers, therefore marketers looking to communicate offers to consumers should consider advertising inserts.’
While men tend to be most likely to be the chief shoppers for home electronic products, the study found that women are taking a more active role in deciding which electronics to purchase. In particular, 91% of women 35-49 claim to be either the chief shoppers or to share equally in home electronic purchasing decisions, compared to 86% of women 18-34 and 86% of women 50 and older. On the other hand, 94% of men 18-34 and an equal number of men 35-49 claim to be the chief shoppers or to equally share in the decision-making process, compared to 92% of men 50 and older.
www.vertisinc.com
CHUM to save almost $15 million through restructuring; nearly 300 lose jobs
CHUM’s day of big announcements ended with a big shock for the nearly 300 employees who were handed pink slips yesterday. Lost in all the news about its takeover by Bell Globemedia and release of its Q3 results was CHUM’s intention to restructure its approach to local information programming, a move resulting in the elimination of 281 full- and part-time jobs. CHUM projects the changes will result in net annualized operating cost savings of about $14.7 million.
Pepsi’s Dew Fuel to hijack Much sites for all-nighter
As if being gobbled up by BGM weren’t enough of a shocker, Much Music sites in Toronto and Vancouver will be hijacked from midnight to 6 a.m. July 14. The perpetrators will stage a unique media event to launch Pepsi Cola Canada’s new youth-oriented Dew Fuel.
The concept, says Tony Chapman, CEO of Toronto’s Capital C, ‘was to tie in the DNA of the brand – Explicit Energy – with an all-night party,’ with the first three hours staged in T.O. and the final three in Vancouver.
‘We developed Dew Fuel from scratch,’ he adds, ‘after Pepsi assigned us the Mountain Dew Energy brand last fall. We went back to them with a complete makeover including a new name, positioning and brand key, packaging and creative template, including digital, promotion, point of sale, advertising, sampling, a full 360.’
The Dew Fuel brand made its worldwide debut in February. Its website, which contains kickass animation, is www.dewfuel.ca.
Capital C’s Live Event Division is producing the hijack party, which will involve live bands and video gaming Chapman bills as ‘the hottest gaming girls in the world, who will destroy the boys in head-to-head competition.’
He lauds OMD for ‘believing in the concept’ and credits Jet Star Entertainment’s collaboration and the support of brands including Xbox 360.
Scotiabank to target Canadian travelers online
‘Last year, 88% of consumers planning to travel either researched or purchased their trips online’ – signalling their receptivity to websites enhanced with innovative video messages from marketers, says Paul Deverell, COO, Travel Shop Television.
His argument has just convinced Scotiabank to become the first major advertiser on Travel Shop Television’s new online video network, which targets Canadian travellers. The Scotiabank campaign (which can be viewed on the network’s targetvacations.ca site) includes a :30 second video ad that runs pre-roll, as well as a clickable rectangle and leaderboard featuring the Scotia Gold Preferred Visa card.
Says Rick White, VP brand & marketing management for Scotiabank, ‘Research in this area is telling us that online video doubles the impact of brand awareness and ad awareness compared with the average performance of online ads.’
Deverell touts his network as a breakthrough for advertisers. ‘This is a new and innovative way to get messages in front of (consumers) while they are actually shopping … on travel websites. Instead of just looking at still pictures, they are able to watch broadcast-quality video of destinations or properties resulting in a better shopping experience.’
Montreal Conventional stations Commercial minute ratings showing consistency BBM Commercial Tracking grids May 30/05 versus May June 25/06
Montreal Francophone stations Commercial minute ratings for June 05 versus June 06 are showing consistency in BBM’s Commercial Tracking grids. Please click below to see GRP trending by week.
Montreal
